Self-aligning shingle



- Nov. 8, i949 w. L. ROWE 2,487,593

SELF-ALIGNING SHINGLE Filed April 5, 1948 INVENTOR #444 /AM 1 firs.

By I) ATTORNEY tively frangible shingles,

Nov. 8,1949

sear-memo snmom William L. Rowe, New York, N.

Jolml-Manvllle Corporation New York,

Y., arsignor to N. Y.,

Y a corporation of New York Application April 5, 1948, Serial No. 18,957 3 Claims. (Cl. 108-7) The instant invention relates to shingles to be laid in overlapping courses and is particularly concerned with rigid but relafor example, those made of a hardened, compressed, asbestos-cement composition and known in the art as "asbestos-cement shingles." However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the particular composition of the base material and that it may have the same or similar advantages when applied to other shingles, such as those composed of an asphalt-impregnated felt base carrying coating and surfacing treatments.

The invention has for its principal object the provision of improved shingles of a character to provide maximum coverage with a minimum of material and to have self-aligning features. A shingle of this general type which has achieved outstanding commercial success has a substantially rectangular lower or butt section defining the area of the shingle to be exposed when laid and also a portion of the area to be overlapped, and a pointed head section formed integrally with the lower section, the slanting sides of the pointed head extending to the ends of the rectangular section. In laying shingles of this type the upper corners of the shingles of a course are placed in contiguous relationship and in a position to overlie the apex of the pointed head of a shingle of the underlying course. When positioned in this manner the shingles are automatically properly aligned on the roof. The pointed head section of 'the shingle has its greatest extent where it underlies the joint between the ad jacent shingles of the next lower course, hence providing the maximum coverage at the point where maximum coverage is required.

' It has been found that due to the rough handling to which the bundles of shingles are exposed, particularly during shipping and delivery to the job, the sharp corners of the shingles are often broken off to greater or lesser extents, making it difficult to take advantage of the selfaligning feature. Also, where the apex of the pointed head is broken ofi, as is frequently the case, the amount of headlap is reduced with the danger that leakage may occur.

An object of the invention is the provision of a shingle of this general type but which substantially eliminates or at least greatly reduces, the

on a roof or side wall possibility of the shingle being damaged even under rough handling, to an extent which will interfere with the self-aligning feature, or adversely effect the weatherproof characteristics of the roof.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a shingle'inwhich the upper or head section is of trapezoidal shape having an upper edge parallel to the base and edges slanting therefrom to intersect the base section at points spaced from the corners. In such shingles the sharp points of the head portions are eliminated and full coverage at the joint between overlying shingles is insured. Also, in the preferred embodiment at least the upper corners of the rectangular portion are equally chamfered, thus eliminating sharp corners which are likely to become broken off to destroy the self-aligning characteristics of the shingle. The lower corners of the rectangular section adjacent the butt edge may be similarly chamfered to. insure uniformity of appearance.

My invention will be more fully understood and further objects and advantages thereof will become apparent when reference is made to the more detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention which are to follow and to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a shingle embodying the instant invention;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic plan view illustrating a plurality of shingles of Fig. 1 laid in overlapping relationship on a roof or wall structure;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic plan view depicting the manner in which theshingles may be cut from a sheet of material; and,

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1. illustrating a modification of the shingle. 3

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to Fig. 1, a shingle ll embodying the important features of the instant invention is illustrated. As previously pointed out, the shingle may be made of any suitable base stock butinasmuch as the problem solved by the instant construction is most frequently encountered in asbestos-cement shingles, such shingles are specifically referred to. The shingle l0 comprises a substantially rectangular, lower or butt section II defined in part by butt edge It and end edges [8. Theupper boundar of the lower section is defined by the line of juncture of the section (see dot-dash line I.) with 9. preferably integral, trapezoidal head section 20 and shoulders 22. In the embodiment of Fig. 1 butt edge I4 is provided with spaced notches 24 whereby the edge simulates the appearance of the butt edges of a plurality of individual shingles laid in coursewise, adjacent relationship. The lower or butt section of the shingle includes the entire area to be exposed below the butt edges'of an overlying course when the shingle is laid. the width of this area being represented by the dimension a. The remainder of the lower section, the width of which is represented by dimension 1), together with the trapezoidal upper section 20 having a width c, defines the headlap area or area to be covered by shingles of a next highercourse. Dimensions a and c are substantially equal. The width of the shingle represented by the dimension D is at least equal to the width of overlap required'at all points of the roof to prevent the passage or moisture between the overlapping shingles. Trapezoidal section 20 has an upper, centrally located edge 28 in substantial parallelism to butt edge vI4 and slanting side edges 30 meeting the line l8 of juncture between the upperand lower sections at points 32. The distances between points 32 and the ends of the shingles (i. e. the intersection of the projection of ends it and shoulders 22 where the corners are chamfered as shown in Fig. 1) are preferably equal and their combined length is substantially equal to the length of edge 28.

The upper corners of the rectangular portion are preferably cut ofi or equally chamfered, as indicated at 34. The lower corners may be similarly chamfered, as indicated at 36, the chemfers preferably beingat the same angle and of the same depth as the corresponding sides of notches 24. Where the shingles are made oi a hard, frangible material, such as asbestos cement,

preformed nail holes 38 are provided in the overlapped zone in such positions that the nails will 7 not be driven through shingles of underlying courses.

Shingles of the form described above are laid on a roof or side wall in the manner illustrated The manner in which the shingles may be cut from a strip of the base material with a minimum of waste is diagrammatically illustrated in Fig.

in Fig. 2. Thus the shingles are laid in overlapping courses on a suitable roof or wall substructure, the shingles of each course being in lengthwise, abutting relationship with their chamfered, upper corners in alignment to form a V. The shingles of each course are laid so that the points of juncture 32 between the slanting edges 30 and shoulders 22 overlie the points of juncture of the parallel edges 28 and slanting edges 30 of the shingles of the lower course, whereby the shingles are automatically aligned and the width of the exposed area is automatically determined. As many courses are laid in this manner as are necessary to complete the roof.

It will be observed that the full amount of headlap is obtained at the juncture between the overlapping shingles. At the same time at least the required amount of headlap is provided throughout the remaining portions. Thus the overlap between courses is such as to prevent passage of moisture to the roof boards without, however, the presence of an excess of the roofing material where it is not necessary. Inasmuch as the upper edge of the head portion is of substantial length, there is little danger of breakage of the shingle to an extent which would prevent the full headlap from being obtained. The chamfered corners of the butt sections of the shingles similarly greatly reduce the likelihood of injury to the shingles to an extent which would seriously interfere with their self-alignment features or spoil their appearance. The butt edge of a course of shingles of the form shown in 3. Thus two lanes of the shingles may be cut from a sheet of appropriate width, the shingles of adjacent lanes inter-fitting. The only waste material is a comparatively small amount resulting from the chamfered corners of the rectangular portion and the notches in the butt edge. The shingles of the form of Fig. 4 may be similarly cut from the strip, the only additional waste being that required to provide the irregular butt edge. It will be appreciated that, although the base stock has been shown as being of a width to accommodate only two lanes of shingles, it can be of a width to accommodate four lanes, or other multiples of two.

Having thus described my invention in rather full detail, it will be understood that these details need not be strictly adhered to but that various changes and modifications may suggest themselves to one skilled in the art, all falling within the scope of the invention as defined by the subjoined claims.

What I claim is:

1. A shingle comprising a substantially rectangular section having a longitudinal upper edge, said section defining an exposure area and a portion of an area to be overlapped by shingles of a next higher course; and an integral, trapespacings being substantially equal to the length of the uper edge of the upper section.

2. A shingle comprising a substantially rectangular section having a longitudinal upper edge, said section defining an exposure area and a portion of an area. to be overlapped by shingles of a next higher course; and an integral trapezoidal upper section having an upper edge parallel to said longitudinal upper edge of the rectangular section, and straight edges slanting from said upper edge of the upper section outwardly to meet said rectangular section at points spaced from the ends thereof, the sum of said spacings being substantially equal to the length of the upper edge of the upper section, the upper corners of said rectangular section being chamfered.

3. A shingled construction comprising courses of shingles laid in overlapping relationship; each of said shingles comprising a substantially rectangular section having a longitudinal upper edge, and an integral trapezoidal upper section having an upper edge parallel to said longitudinal upper edge of the rectangular section, and straight edges slanting from the upper edge of the upp r section outwardly to meet said rectangular section at points spaced from the ends thereof, the sum of said spacings being substantially equal to the length of the upper edge of the upper section; the upper corners of the rec- 7 tangular sections of the shingles or a course lying in eontinguous relationship, and the points REFERENCES CITED of juncture of the slanting edges with the recm tangular sections of the shingles of a course m 1 rg are of record m the overlying the points of juncture of the upper edges of the upper sections and the slanting edges 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS of shingles of the next lower course. Number Name Date 2,084,981 Anderson June 29, 1937 ROWE 2,205,679 .Ames June 25, 1940 

